Sony KDL-43W805C review

Review: July 2015

Last updated October 2015

Rating:

In a nutshell:The 43-inch version of Sony's W80C range offers a superb viewing experience, and an attractive, slimline design. Benefits include low lag times, making it ideal for PS4 gaming, plus Android TV with a wide choice of apps and content available. Having said that, Sony's slow roll-out of Android is giving us cause for concern.

Summary

You may think that 43 inches is a weird size for a TV, and it is. It may even make you a little nervous. What was Sony thinking? And yet, think rationally about it, and 43 inches is better than 42 inches. It's bigger - about 5% bigger by screen area - and that's got to be good. Think of it as a 42-inch TV with a bonus, and try not to worry about it being weird.

The Sony KDL-43W805C is a 43-inch version of the 50-inch W805C that we previously reviewed, and everything we wrote in that review applies here too.

The 43-inch models come in 3 colour options - the black frame and silver stand of the 43W805C, the silver frame and stand of the 43W807C, and the black frame and dark chrome stand of the 43W809C. They cost about the same, and we suggest you shop around for the best deal.

User questions

Sony KDL-43W805C user reviews

Reviewed by Ian Martin
from UK
on 1st Jun 2017
Fantastic tv. The more common android apps are not available yet.
Active 3D glasses are expensive, but worth it (£50)each.
Absolutely love the tv.Rating:

Reviewed by Sam Millard
from United Kingdom
on 20th Oct 2016
Purchased in December 2015. Between then and July 2016 I spent at the
very least two hours on the phone talking to various help lines. In
that time I did at least 6 factory re-sets. The problems: needed
maximum volume on sound to hear TV, when fixed no balance between
sound outputs on variety of inputs, picture quality fading when
programme involved low light situations, reset automatically to wrong
transmitter, channels disappeared for no reason.

In July
2016 the circuit board was replaced. Factory reset once more when the
picture was fading yet again. Internet help pages are next to
useless. The troubleshooting page, for instance, takes forever to
load. Contacting via e mail is another frustrating experience.
The information page shows a video of people using the handset to use
the voice recognition feature on a variety of apps but this TV doesn't
have that feature, or maybe, like so many other things on the TV, it
simply doesn't work properly.

In conclusion. If you want
to buy a TV that you simply connect up and watch, don't buy this
model. If you like talking to strangers on the phone and fiddling
endlessly with various controls this will give you everything you
want.Rating:

Reviewed by Piers
from UK
on 8th Sep 2015
Awesome picture. I mean really so much better than the obvious
competitor items. Not showy but accurate and with really good
sharpness even in non HD video. Smart TV menu maybe not the best
but it does do exactly what it says on the tin.Rating: